Health Fellow Sam John

Sam John is a biomedical engineer at the Bionic Ear Institute who is currently completing his PhD. The Harold Mitchell Health Fellowship allowed him to attend a Vision and Ophthalmology conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he gave a presentation.

Sam then visited distinguished researchers in Boston, and at Brown University, the University of Utah, and the Huntington Medical Research Institute, where he learned about all the latest work in retinal implants, prosthetic limbs, brain machine interfaces and neural electrode manufacture.

The trip was an important opportunity for Sam to develop professional networks with leaders in the fields of neuroscience, engineering and medical bionics, as well as come to grips with new advances and technologies in neuroscience.

“Through this trip I was able to get an understanding of the importance integrating biomedical technology with the physiological aspect of neuroscience (when it comes to) developing potential clinical applications, like prosthetic limbs for amputees.”

“I also gained a thorough understanding of the overall field of neural engineering/neural prosthetics and the importance of multidisciplinary research.”